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Published Saturday, April 11, 2009 in Local

West Central still planning for standalone campus in Coweta

By Brenda Pedraza-Vidamour

The Times-Herald

Dr. Skip Sullivan, president of West Central Technical College, updated members of the Commission for Higher Education at its quarterly meeting about WCTC's activities, including its plans for a stand-alone, full-service Newnan campus.

"We're gearing up for a number of things," he said, which includes increasing staff and finalizing the site's property purchase. Sullivan said the two-year college has recently hired a dean of distance learning and an enrollment coordinator.

He thanked local state legislators for getting $8.5 million in bond financing back into the state budget. The financing will be used toward the first of two phases of construction. The second phase of construction will be funded through a "major gifts campaign."

Sullivan said the new campus site will be about 38 acres and close to Interstate 85, but declined to offer more details other than saying an announcement would be made later this year about the location. Last summer, WCTC announced it had purchased an option to buy land in the Pattillo-managed Coweta Industrial Park off Sharpsburg-McCollum Road.

Sullivan said the first construction phase for the new campus will be a 60,000-square-foot building to house the college's occupational programs. The building will be similar to the College and Career Institute, currently under construction, on WCTC's Douglas campus. WCTC has campuses in Carroll, Douglas, Haralson and Coweta.

In Coweta, WCTC offers degree-credit courses at the Central Educational Center in Newnan, where it has shared a campus since 2000.

"The county, of course, is under-served," he said at the Wednesday meeting.

While overall enrollment has increased 32 percent in the last quarter and the college expects to serve up to 12,000 students this fall, growth in Coweta has been limited because of the lack of space. Besides credit programs, the college also offers GED and other adult education classes. The classes in Newnan are currently held in trailers behind CEC because of lack of space.

When WCTC merges with LaGrange-based West Georgia Technical College in July, the combined colleges will serve up to 500,000 residents in a seven-county area. More enrollment growth is expected as the economy starts its slow recovery from recession.

"The economy drives people back to school," Sullivan said.

In other business, the commission voted to appoint Malcolm Jackson, a WCTC Foundation board member, as an at-large member in lieu of Jan Alligood's resignation. Whitlock said Alligood, Newnan-Coweta Chamber of Commerce chairwoman, had expressed that she was overextended with other responsibilities and commitments.

The commission also reviewed its discussions about a university center model in Newnan, Newnan's plans for the former Hannah Homes site, and the recent renovations and changes at the University of West Georgia Newnan Center.

In response to questions about the Hannah Homes site, City Councilman George Alexander said the city is still "very interested" in the site, but "as to the extent, can't commit to anything." The 10-acre site on Jefferson Street, north of downtown, was formerly public housing. The property belongs to the city and has been promoted as a possible site for a university or college.

"Hannah Homes is still in the picture, but part of problem is the economy and players stepping forward," he said. "A lot of the council members, if not all, want something to happen."

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